caw

Keith Haring’s art is on a new line of sex toys, and the staff of AnimalNY took it upon themselves to ensure the “uber-advanced vacuum fuck cups” were up to par. Best review: “Still feels like I’m fucking a rubber egg.” [AnimalNY]

For a time, Sweden’s biggest criminal was a wayward librarian. Nobody suspected the librarian had been stealing rare and valuable books, even though he was living the life of luxury, with “Armani suits, silk ties, Cuban Cohibas and a Mercedes.”After he was caught, he committed suicide, and became a posthumous celebrity in Sweden, with a TV mini-series and radio documentary. Now, one of his stolen manuscripts, containing the first Atlas of the Americas, has been recovered, a map worth almost half-a-million. [The New York Times]

At yesterday’s contemporary sale, Phillips de Pury showed the bigger auction houses that they, too, can shatter records. Some examples: they brought in the highest-ever dollar amount for a Wade Guyton and for a Basquiat-Warhol collaboration.We’d predicted the Guyton would move quickly, noting he’s been a charmer to collectors in our cheat sheet to the sale. [Art Observed]

The best K-pop art ever. And yes, that is a group of shirtless boys squirting each other with a hose. [Hancinema]

The National Academy announces its newest artist members to the academy, a group including Cindy Sherman, Bill Viola, and Robert Gober. You may now refer to them as “National Gallery Academicians.” Although this is an entirely honorary title, it’s the first time the organization has allowed artists working in video, photography, and installation to enter join the academy’s ranks. [Media Bistro]

The Coalition on the Academic Workforce (CAW) just released a report on the abuses of part-time college faculty. The report finds that almost half of the entire higher education faculty in the United States is part-time and the median pay per course for these part-timers is a measly $2,700 per semester. [CAW]